Questions on purchasing first duck dog....

Ive been looking for a black lab, however theyre hard to find this time of year. My wife wants a black lab in the worse way and I would love to have one for retrieving birds. I have found someone selling black lab beagle mix puppis. Im interested in these dogs because i have a small house (very small) and being they are beagle mix they will most likely not be as large as a purebred lab. They will also be ready in time for xmas which is what Ive been looking for since I want to surprise my wife with a puppy on xmas. My question is, will I be able to train this dog for retrieving being its a mix? will the fact that its part beagle make it difficult or impossible to train? If its not worth my time, I would rather wait to find a purebred than get a dog that will be useless to me in the duck blind. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

If you are a good trainer, you can train the dog to retrieve and hunt anything. But being that I'm unsure of your training ability, I'm going to assume that since it's your first dog, you are not sure what to do. I can tell you this, the size of your house will not matter, no matter what the dog size, if you don't train it.

Being that I once had to buy my first dog, and seeing it play out many times over the years, I'd wait and find a litter from well bred hunting stock and buy one of those. Look at it this way, if the first one doesn't pan out, you'll be buying another anyway. Ask lots of questions and start doing research on how to train dogs for your purpose. Your chances of having a more forgiving dog when training are much higher if you buy from proven pedigrees.

Best of luck,

Oh, and black labs are not that hard to find. Lots of litters being advertised all over. You may just have to travel a little.

If you are a good trainer, you can train the dog to retrieve and hunt anything. But being that I'm unsure of your training ability, I'm going to assume that since it's your first dog, you are not sure what to do. I can tell you this, the size of your house will not matter, no matter what the dog size, if you don't train it.

Being that I once had to buy my first dog, and seeing it play out many times over the years, I'd wait and find a litter from well bred hunting stock and buy one of those. Look at it this way, if the first one doesn't pan out, you'll be buying another anyway. Ask lots of questions and start doing research on how to train dogs for your purpose. Your chances of having a more forgiving dog when training are much higher if you buy from proven pedigrees.

Best of luck,

Oh, and black labs are not that hard to find. Lots of litters being advertised all over. You may just have to travel a little.

im in upstate ny. i know i can find a dog eventually, ive just been hoping to find one for xmas, which may not happen. i have experience with dogs, just never with training them for hunting and retrieving so that will be new to me. spending time working with the dog will be an every day thing for me, no matter which dog i choose, especially since i live on a lake and i have the water to use for training whenever i want. training will become part of my day to day life. ive talked to a few breeders in the area, and they pre sell the pups once they are born. if they are a litter that is far away from me, i may not get to actually see the litter and take my pick, which is something i will not settle for. i want to know the pups before i pick them. i have that option here with this litter. what i do know about this litter, is that the mother is purebred black lab. I am going to try and find some more information on her bloodline. i suppose i could take my chances at one of these pups, since buying another dog in the future is still an option. I wouldnt mind housing two dogs, but would prefer only one. i appreciate the info tho, and im sure no matter what happens ill be visiting this forum in the future in search of more help!

i agree that you can train most dogs to do anything, but given your interests in waterfowling, i would wait until the right dog comes up. i wouldn't rush it just to beat the Christmas deadline......and...........if your wife said Lab..................then by all means get her a Lab.

You aren't going to like what I'm about to tell you, but it's the truth. You said it's not acceptable for you to not get to see and know the litter before you pick out a puppy.....well my friend, I have bad news for you. Your 20 minute stop in from time to time to see the litter will in no way compare to what the breeder knows about the litter and the personalities of the puppies.

Here's my advice. Tell the breeder what you are looking for. Tell the breeder what you plan to train for. Go and visit the puppies. Have the breeder pick your puppy, write your check, say thank you, train and give the pup a good home.

You aren't going to like what I'm about to tell you, but it's the truth. You said it's not acceptable for you to not get to see and know the litter before you pick out a puppy.....well my friend, I have bad news for you. Your 20 minute stop in from time to time to see the litter will in no way compare to what the breeder knows about the litter and the personalities of the puppies.

Here's my advice. Tell the breeder what you are looking for. Tell the breeder what you plan to train for. Go and visit the puppies. Have the breeder pick your puppy, write your check, say thank you, train and give the pup a good home.

brmotorhead (11-30-2012)Ive been looking for a black lab, however theyre hard to find this time of year. My wife wants a black lab in the worse way and I would love to have one for retrieving birds. I have found someone selling black lab beagle mix puppis. Im interested in these dogs because i have a small house (very small) and being they are beagle mix they will most likely not be as large as a purebred lab. They will also be ready in time for xmas which is what Ive been looking for since I want to surprise my wife with a puppy on xmas. My question is, will I be able to train this dog for retrieving being its a mix? will the fact that its part beagle make it difficult or impossible to train? If its not worth my time, I would rather wait to find a purebred than get a dog that will be useless to me in the duck blind. Any help is appreciated. Thanks!

Forget the mix breed. No further commentary necessary.

Forget seeing the litter. A guy from my retriever club who is in the retriever HOF, finshed numerous nationals and won one national said he picked the litter then showed up the day they were to be picked up and grabbed one that was black with balls and went home. The most important thing is picking the litter. The rest is a crap shoot. You can't possibly know more about the pups than the breeder who spends every day with the pups as others have said.

Forget the Christmas pup. Great thought but I've spent 6-8 months researching litters. Take your time and get the right pup for you. Also don't limit yourself geographically. You may need to drive 6 hours one way to pick up the little pup. You may have this dog for upwards of 14 years. Gas up the truck and make it a road trip. My kids still talk about the trip I took them on to get my current dog. Be ready to open up the checkbook as well. Good dogs cost good money. Most agree the cost of the pup is one of the cheapest expenditures. Food, vet bills, training gear, gas, etc will make that initial payment look nominal.

Thanks for the input guys! i guess i need to do a little more research first and find some breeders in my area. I feel the biggest thing for me to overcome will be the allergies...but ive been told allergy shots work well. I didnt want to go into this and end up with "just another pet" and you guys have pointed me in the right direction. As stated previously, im sure i will be on here in the future for more advise! Thanks again!